Abstract
Recent work in moral philosophy and psychology has made deep connections between questions of morality and identity, suggesting that orientation to a moral framework, through community practices and discourses, contributes to the individual sense of self. I argue that contemporary Liberal Quakers in Britain thus use their moral judgments among other things to reinforce their social identity as Quakers, emphasising a shared approach to ethical framework and sources of authority over the substantive content of the judgments. The favoured ethical framework of Liberal British Quakers appears to be a form of virtue ethics, and I explore the possibility that links between virtue ethics on the one hand and the concepts of testimony and discernment on the other, enable the use of a virtue ethics approach to reinforce a sense of Quaker identity.
Recommended Citation
Scully, Jackie Leach
(2010)
"Virtuous Friends: Morality and Quaker Identity,"
Quaker Studies: Vol. 14:
Iss.
1, Article 6.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/quakerstudies/vol14/iss1/6
New Location Notice
The QSRA now publishes current issues through Liverpool University Press, available to subscribers only, at this location: http://online.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/loi/quaker.